Harper is the most trusted partner in thermal processing technologies for the Carbon Fiber industry. Our value proposition in unequaled – with decades of industry experience and installations worldwide from small scientific research lines to full scale Carbon Fiber production lines, our expert team lives to custom engineer furnace systems that meet your unique scale-up needs, resulting in unparalleled versatility and reliability.
Although Carbon Fiber is predominantly produced from polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and pitch, there is an increasing necessity for alternative, low cost and renewable precursors. Harper has the unique ability to adapt our technology to process nontraditional precursors throughout the entire thermal process. By using nontraditional precursors such as lignin, rayon, polyethylene, and blends, customers have the ability to lower their operating costs and reduce the residence time in the oven.
We have designed our equipment to be able to produce these emerging precursors throughout all line sizes, from research to production scale. To custom engineer a furnace specifically for the customer’s needs we take into consideration the chemistry of the precursor to determine the materials of production. Whether the precursor is unsupported by its weight requiring a belt furnace or is a tow, Harper provides solutions for these emerging precursors throughout the full process.
Click here to compare the different Carbon Fiber line sizes.
Scientific Lines
Even our smallest scale Carbon Fiber conversion line emulates real world production across all equipment, yet delivers the precision and flexibility needed to aid research efforts and future scale up.
- Requires only one person to operate
- Designed to handle very few filaments – from 10 to 20 filaments up to 6k
- Operates at about .15 meters per minute or .005kg per hour
- Instrumented to collect data – geared toward scientific analysis
- Best suited for mono-filament operation and rapid cycle PAN formulation research
Learn more about Scientific Scale Lines.
Pilot Lines
Our fully integrated Pilot Line systems offer features and conditions aligned with production scale systems for customers making higher amounts of material for sampling and trialing yet at smaller quantities than full scale Production Lines. As an example, the world class line installed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Carbon Fiber Technology Facility (pictured right) for advanced fiber trialing features:
- Capacities of 4.3kg per hour
- Small tow size ranges of four 12k or sixteen 3k, a minimum 48k total
- Belt transport for matted or felted product formats
- Driven pass-back rollers for slip prevention at low loading
- Internals with a high degree of corrosion resistance for alternative precursor use
- Three discreet airflow directions
Learn more about Pilot Scale Lines.
Production Lines
When you have reached production scale, Harper’s 3M and 4M Carbon Fiber lines are the ideal choice, focused on process effectiveness, product quality and operational optimization. Born from our years of experience in helping customers from around the world grow from fractions of kilograms per hour to tons per year, Harper’s unique expertise is in linking the process steps offering a seamless and fluid production line with maximum efficiency.
Harper is the industry standard choice in continuous LT, HT, UHT furnace and Oxidation Oven technologies for the Carbon Fiber industry. Our latest innovation in 3 meter wide production scale Oxidation Oven demonstrates outstanding performance for key metrics including air velocity uniformity measuring at 2.2%, and temperature uniformity of +/-2.5°C throughout the entire heated length. This innovative oven design enables enhanced performance with higher and more efficient rates of production.
Learn more about Production Scale Lines.
Explore more Carbon Fiber Line resources…
- Innovation in action – Our many Patents for carbon fiber equipment designs
- Trusted by manufacturers worldwide – Read what our customer have to say
- Learn from the Leaders – Access our Technical Presentations library
